


Dan's Terrible Winter Break aka Klaine Advent Calendar 2015

by hazelandglasz



Category: Glee
Genre: Advent Calendar, Children, Gen, M/M, Married Life, Parenthood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-03
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-04 18:08:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 6,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5343530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazelandglasz/pseuds/hazelandglasz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Following the prompts given by klaineadvent.tumblr.com, let's follow Dan Hummel-Anderson, 24, and his adventures while spending his Winter Break back at home with his parents (and his sister Cecilia)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Anniversary

When he wakes up, Dan lets himself roll around his bed.

It’s been awhile since he’s been home for so long, and even if his feet dangle from the edge of his bed when he stretches to his full height, he enjoys the comfort of it.

And then he hears it.

The unmistakable sound of his parents--

Oh no, what day is it.

Dan tries to roll into a tight ball under his blanket, as if the cotton will protect him from it.

Countless episodes from his childhood have taught him better, and he knows that there is no way to escape it.

To escape the sound of his fathers singing like lunatics in the kitchen--they’re probably making a mess of a good, innocent bowl of pancake batter too--because it’s their anniversary.

Not their wedding, or their first meeting, or their first kiss, or the first time they even had sex--not something even remotely normal, like other parents do, no.

No, on December 1st, the Hummel-Andersons are celebrating the anniversary of the first time they went to watch the “Sound of Music” together.

At a college theater.

In Ohio.

Urgh.

With all due respect to Ms. Andrews, Queen of Genovia, Dan cannot think of the musical without getting an allergic reaction.

“No, _you_ ’re my favorite thing,” comes Paps’ voice through the wall, followed by an eerie sort of silence that Dan doesn’t want to ponder on, not even a little bit.

 

 


	2. Broadway

“Come on!”

“No.”

Kurt is not above pouting to get his grown-man of a son to do what he wants.

Who cares if he’s himself well on his way to be called an old man.

_If the pouts fits …_

“I promise you’ll like this show.”

Dan rolls his eyes, in a true Hummel fashion.

“When have I _ever_ enjoyed Broadway?” he asks, returning his attention to whatever is more interesting than his father on his screen.

“When you were small enough that you didn’t talk back,” Kurt mumbles, fumbling with the three tickets Jesse send them when he heard that Dan would be in town for the holidays.

“I have lunch!” Blaine calls, closing the door behind him before taking in the sour mood in the room. “What’s going on?”

“Dan doesn’t want to use his uncle’s very generous gift,” Kurt says, loud enough that Dan cannot pretend he didn’t hear him.

“The tickets to ‘Hamilton’?” Blaine asks, a disappointed look on his face.

Dan is out of the couch in a second. “Hamilton?” he repeats. “Why didn’t you tell me that it was for that show?!”

“When have you _ever_ enjoyed Broadway?” Kurt replies, mimicking Dan’s bored tone.

“B-but, but Hamilton is not _just_ Broadway, Dad!”

“Don’t I know it.”

“Besides, it wouldn’t be polite to refuse a present,” Dan continues, straightening his shirt and plucking the tickets from Kurt’s fingers. “And you didn’t raise me that way.”

“Definitely not.”

Dan beams at them, pulling Kurt in a hug--and since when did his son can tower over him? And where did he get those shoulders? “I’m sorry I was being dumb,” he whispers in Kurt’s ear before giving him the second worst case of puppy eyes Kurt has ever had to face.

“Fine, fine, you’re forgiven,” Kurt says, waving his hand in front of him to make Dan go away.

“Still a sucker for his puppy look?” Blaine asks quietly, pushing a box of stir fry in front of Kurt.

“Yes, my precious puppy baby.”

“You do realize that he’s 24.”

“Yep. Still my baby.”

“Promise me one thing.”

Kurt turns to Blaine, a piece of soy dangling from his lip. “Hm?”

Blaine leans in to kiss him, tugging the piece of soy for himself. “Never change.”

“A bit too late for that anyway.”

 


	3. Competition

Dan doesn’t know why his parents are still behaving like they are teenagers.

They are pushing fifty, for fuck’s sake.

Why does everything has to be a competition?

Especially _this_.

“Ha! I cleaned _all_ the plates _and_ the gratin dish!”

“Well, kiss my ass and call me a winner, because I vacuumed the _whoooole_ floor.”

“Pish posh.”

“Using Adam’s language is not going to make you more of a winner, Anderson, and you know it!”

“How can you compare the two?! There used to be a Dauphinois in that dish!”

From the living room, where he’s not participating in the whole Winter Cleansing, Dan can hear the vacuum being dropped.

“Come on, Blaine,” Kurt says, and Dan cringes because he knows that tone.

He got used to that tone.

Cecilia and him are trained to evacuate the premises if they hear that tone.

“Who wants some coffee?” he shouts.

“I know that you still don’t like it when I win,” Kurt continues, and Dan is barely one arm into his coat.

“Just me? Coffee? Okay!” he shouts again, his voice getting strangled when he can hear Paps’ grumbles turning into a breathy little m--

No, nope, not happening.

“See you later!” he shouts, slamming the door behind him.

Seriously.

Teenagers.

 


	4. Day

“No, of course Shawn, we wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Dan blinks as he spots his Dad using his Stage voice on the phone as he comes home from a stroll around the neighborhood.

Very articulate, forced smile on his face--whoever this Shawn is, he’s asking his Dad something he doesn’t particularly look for.

Paps is sitting on the side, sipping his coffee--it better be decaf is going to talk his ear off about the misdeeds of caffeine--and smiling as he observes the conversation.

“--oh, I’ll have to check with him … I’ll mention that Blue is-- sure.”

Dan’s eyes widen and he looks at the calendar on his watch.

Oh no--how did he manage to forget what day it was is beyond him, but he’ll think about it later.

He must escape.

He starts moving but his Paps catches his sleeve and shakes his head.

“No escaping this,” he mouths, and Dan drops his head in silent resignation.

“I’ll go and change,” he mouths back, scrapping his shoes against the floor to silently show his discontent.

He was looking forward for spending the evening with his dads, not smooching up with the Carter-Knowles.

And Blue is acting a bit too cougar-y for his taste.

Why couldn’t Jay-Z’s birthday be one day later, so Dan could have Cecilia by his side.

And why do his dads have to be so darn friendly with Beyoncé and her husband.

Bah, he’ll just have to endure it--it’s not like he’s not used to it. 


	5. Escape

Cecilia jumps on Dan’s back the moment she’s home.

“Heeeeello big bro,” she says in his ear, tightening her hold around his neck.

“Hey peanut,” Dan replies, leaning his head back on her shoulder to kiss her cheek. “Welcome to the Cuckoo’s nest.”

Cecilia drops back to the floor and leans against the counter next to him. “The dads going crazy over getting their hands on their babies?”

“It’s like there is no way to escape them.”

“It’s cute.”

Dan snorts. “Just give them a day or two, and we’ll see if you still sing that tune.”

“Someone said singing a tune?” Blaine calls from the laundry room, before rushing to pick up Cecilia and twirling her around. “Baby girl!”

Cecilia squeals. “Put me down, you loon, you’ll hurt your back!”

Kurt chooses that moment to come back from the grocery store, and Dan somehow manages to save the bags from his hands when he nearly drops them.

“Cilia,” he whispers, pulling her into a hug. “I thought you were supposed to come back tomorrow, I was going to bake your favorite and--”

“Surprise!”

“The best kind,” Blaine and Kurt say together, tightening a hug around Cecilia.

Over their shoulders, she searches for Dan’s eyes.

“No escaping now,” he mouths to her.


	6. Fan

“What is  _[that](http://realpalmtrees.com/palm-tree-store/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/a/california-fan-palm-tree-washingtonia-filifera-10-01-b-realpalmtrees.com.jpg)_?”

“Uncle Cooper’s Christmas present. It was delivered this morning.”

“Can you stop eating while you answer?”

*munches even more obnoxiously*

“Ugh, _boys_.”

“Tell that to the dads.”

“No but seriously, what is it?”

“Let me check the card.”

“What is _that_?”

“Good morning Dad.”

“Good morning my munchkins. What the frick is that?”

“Uncle Coop.”

“Ugh.”

“Listen to this : “ _My dearest brother and his dearestest family, please welcome this piece of California in your home to remind you of me constantly_.””

“Like we need something to think of your uncle.”

“Good morning fam--what is that?”

“Good morning Paps!”

“Your brother, Blaine.”

“Coop? Why would he send us a Californian fan palm tree?”

“Of course you know what type of tree it is.”

“You _love_ when I talk nerdy.”

“Dan I’m scared?”

“Lead the way, sis’.”

*kissing sounds drift from the entrance, no matter how loud they put the TV*


	7. Guide

Kurt looks at his family, assembled in the kitchen.

His husband, his son, his daughter, his dog.

All together, following Dan’s instructions to make a small mountain of gingerbread cookies.

Oh, he’s going to join them, just–in a minute.

He too needs Dan as his guide to make sure that the cookies have the proper texture.

But for now, Kurt prefers to bask in the warmth of it.

His family.

He loves them so much, and he doesn’t get to see them all together as often as he’d like.

“Paps, Dad is getting sentimental over us.”

“I know. Be a good son and pretend you didn’t see him take a candid picture of us with flour in our hair.”

“If you destroy it.”

“Naturally.”

 


	8. Hope

Sometimes, Dan wonders if he’s just too hopeful, too optimistic.

Too much of his fathers’ son, in a way.

He didn’t think he was shooting for the Moon when he hoped that he would have an answer from his job applications before Christmas.

After all, he already has a reputation in the culinary world, and his fathers have taught him well the art of presenting himself in the best light possible.

But still--nothing.

“Hey bud.”

Dan looks up from the pillow where he is trying to bury his face, attempting to smile at his Dad who offers him a mug. “Hot chocolate with butterscotch, your favorite.”

“That’s your favorite, Dad,” he replies, straightening up to leave some room for his Dad.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Not really.”

“‘Kay.”

They’re silent for a moment, sipping on their drinks and Dan takes some levels of comfort in the warmth of it, and of his father’s presence next to him.

“You can always come to talk about it with me or your Papa.”

Dan smiles around the rim of the mug. “I know Dad.”

“And we love you.”

“Ditto.”

“And we’re proud of you.”

Sighing in amusement, Dan moves around to lay his head on Kurt’s shoulder. “I know Dad.”

I wish I could make you prouder, that’s all.

 

 


	9. Indecent

Cecilia and Dan have trained themselves to learn when to leave whenever their fathers get too … touchy-feely-schmoopsy.

But this has reached a whole new level.

“For fuck’s sake, you’d think that a couple of fifty-somethings would–”

“Still 49.”

“Not yet 50, excuse me.”

Dan sighs, eyes still closed. “Not the point, Dad, Paps, and you know it.”

No reply, and they better not try escaping this discussion.

“Now, I get it, I really do,” he tries again, opening one eye–nope, they’re still too indecent for his mental health–, “you got used to have the house to yourselves, and you obviously love each other very much, congratulations–”

“We  _do_.”

“Eurgh,  _please_ ,” Cecilia grumbles against Dan’s back where she tries burying her face.

“–BUT,” Dan continues, “we are in the house, with you, for the holidays, and it shouldn’t be too much to ask to not  _jump at each other’s zipper when we turn our backs for five minutes_!”

“Especially since we went in the kitchen to make  _you_ snacks,” Cecilia chimes in.

“Shit, the popcorn,” Dan shrieks, rushing back to the kitchen just in time to save them from burnt kernels.

“Sorry,” Dad says, and Paps looks sheepish next to him, nodding along with his apology, their shirts askew and rumpled.

“Hm.”

“We’ll try to keep it in our bedroom, promise.”

Cecilia and Dan exchange a look that somehow manages to convey how little faith they have in that promise.

“And we’ll invite you out tonight?”

“I guess.”

“Fine.”

_So easy._


	10. Jumble

When Dan picks up the phone during dinner, Kurt twists his mouth in disapprobation, but Blaine covers his hand with his and shakes his head.

“You know he’s waiting for some replies,” he whispers while Dan talks in the living room, his voice distant and oddly professional in the distance.

“I know, I know,” Kurt says, conceding the point and leaning towards the conversation, trying to catch something, anything that would indicate whether Dan is happy, sad, demoralized, oh God, what are they going to do if their baby loses his faith in himself?

“Deep breath Dad,” Cecilia says with a soft smile, her head turned towards the approximate location of her brother too.

When Dan comes back, his phone clutched in his hand, the first words out of his mouth sound more like a jumble of letters that a toddler would have arranged haphazardly on the ground.

“I--they--the Wal--I can’t--oh God.”

Not very helpful to draw any conclusions.

“Who was it?” Blaine asks as calmly as possible.

“What did they say?” Kurt asks slightly less calmly.

“Take a seat and drink this,” Cecilia offers, the voice of reason as always.

Dan does sit down and gulps down her apple juice.

“So?”

“Th--that was the, the, fuck, the Waldorf Astoria.”

Blaine and Kurt’s eyes widen and Cecilia whistles under her breath. “Alright,” she says excitedly. “What did they say?”

“They--they--they …”

The three of them lean in.

“They want me to be their new Chef de partie,” Dan finally says in a whisper filled with awe, disbelief and joy.

Three seconds and a half of complete quiet take over the dining table, and then--

“OH MY GOD!”

“I knew it, I knew it!”

“Come here baby let me hug you properly!”

Dan ends up crying and laughing in a four-way hug, his dads framing him and holding him tight while Cecilia claims the spot of honor, against his back.


	11. Kink

“Ooh, _hm_ , yes, just there, _hmmm_ …”

Dan sighs and buries his face in his scarf for a moment.

They swore they wouldn’t do anything like that in common rooms again.

Dan takes off his coat, and his Paps lets out another series of moans.

They are unredeemable.

_Oh Lord give me strength._

Dan opens the door, only to slam it once more, to make sure that they are aware that they’re not alone in the house anymore.

“Hey baby boy,” Dad calls and Dan frowns.

No shame? No awkwardness? No “we fucked up”?

“Hiiii,” he says slowly, gingerly entering the common room.

His dads are on the couch, Paps lying down with his feet in Dad’s lap.

“What’s going on?”

“I had a kink in my foot,” Paps reply, wiggling his toes while Dad massages it. “Your dad is the best to help me with it.”

“Kinky,” Dan deadpans, shaking his head and rolling his eyes when the two men only laugh in his face. “You guys want something from the kitchen?”

“No thank you mijo.”

“I’m good, schmoops.”

Dan smiles and goes in the kitchen.

Once they’re sure he can’t hear them, Kurt turns to look at Blaine. “I have a feeling he thought we were up to no good.”

“When did they become the parents in this house?”

Kurt chuckles before leaning forward to peck Blaine’s lips. “When we started acting like teenagers all over again.”


	12. Legend

Blaine is trying very hard to look like he is completely relaxed, reading his newspaper on his tablet over his glasses, but he has one tell that Kurt knows by heart.

He’s tapping his little finger against the edge of it, and Kurt smirks at him as he sits in the couch.

“What is going on?” he asks without preamble.

Their lack of communication is a thing of the past, practically a myth, completely the stuff of legends now.

“Cecilia called.”

“Ok?”

“She won’t come back tonight.”

“Ok??”

“She has a  _date_.”

“…”

“With a  _couple_.”

Kurt’s eyes widen at that and he starts nibbling on his thumb. “‘mkay?”

“And Dan is out too–with Kirk.”

“Out,  _out_ , or just out?”

“What?”

Kurt huffs a sigh. “Is he out for drinks with Kirk Evans or are they, you know, out on a date?”

“Drinks, most likely, to celebrate Dan’s accomplishment,” Blaine replies, a hint of a smile finally on his lips. “Though they would make a great looking coup–”

“Do  _not_ finish that sentence.”


	13. Moon

Most of the times, Dan doesn’t mind his dads singing across the house–except when it’s fuck’o’clock in the morning, obviously, but otherwise, he has grown to that impression of having his own personal soundtrack.

And sometimes, all he can do is cover his eyes in the hopes that the shock will make him wake up from that nightmare.

His dads and Uncle Sam, in the kitchen, wearing long shirts and–hopefully–short shorts, otherwise he’s in for some years in therapy, pretending to play guitars and drums with wooden spoons and singing some song they digged up from somewhere in the attic.

It’s not even from the 2000s, Dan can tell.

Oh, here goes Dad, whispering in the curve of his spoon, “ _Gemini moooon_ ”, while Paps and Uncle Sam are air riffing through it.

Cecilia is in the living room, munching on a bowl of porridge and she waves her own spoon at him.

“They’re reminiscing,” she says as if that explains any of the madness inside the kitchen.

Dan picks up the bowl from her hands and takes a spoonful of it.

“They’re crazy.”

“Yep.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“Paps started playing the first album of his collection around the time you left for your finalizing interview, so …”

“Oh God.”

“Want to invite your sister out?”

“Um.”

“So she can get a proper, fatty meal and tell you all about her date?”

“Lead the way.”


	14. Number

“Absolutely not.”

“Come on Dan.”

“No Paps.”

“It will be fun!”

“Not for me!”

“What now?”

“Dan doesn’t want to participate in our traditional Christmas number for the neighborhood party.”

“Oh come on Mijo!”

“No, Dad, no.”

“Cecilia said she would, you know.”

“Of course she did.”

“And we didn’t bribe her.”

“Of course you did not.”

“Pleaaaase?”

“Put that pout away, Paps. Why don’t you two just make it a duet?”

“...”

“I hear that that was a tradition before we came along.”

“...”

“Good. Go pick your duet, and let me bake some cookies for the party.”

“Deal.”

 


	15. Ocean

“… but what made you so sure that you and Dad would get back together?” Dan insists while he’s walking around the neighborhood with Blaine.

They’re walking the dog, like they always did, and the two have often used that moment between them to chat and think about the most random subjects.

God, Blaine missed it when there was an ocean between them–as much as technology is improving long distance relationships, there is nothing like having his tall, strong baby boy by his side, hunching down to make him feel less small.

“I wasn’t sure of anything,” Blaine says, looking down at their dog. “I hoped, and followed my heart, that we were meant to be together.”

“Oh,” Dan simply says, digging his hands in his pockets.

“Is there a special someone you want to talk about?”

Dan smiles hesitantly at him, and in this moment, he looks so much [like Kurt](https://33.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lidw15Wgqr1qgech3.gif) that Blaine feels his heart doubling in size.

“Well, there is … this girl.”

“Go on.”

“I met her in Paris.”

“Ah?”

“And she’s so … Oh Paps, she’s so perfect.”

“I bet she is,” Blaine says softly, patting Dan on the back. “Come on, let’s get something warm and you’ll tell me all about this …?”

“Kim-Ly.”

“All about Kim-Ly.”


	16. Passion

They have been out for the whole evening, and Kurt is giddy with it, the feeling of going on a date with his husband, like the city is theirs for the taking.

When they reach the frontdoor, Kurt has absolutely no qualms pressing against Blaine’s back to get him to open it faster. Oh, he knows how useless it is, how unproductive it is, distracting his husband when he wants him to go faster, but at their ages, there is no delaying possible.

Seize the moment of passion and all that jazz.

But they’re both sidetracked when the smell of sugar hits their noses upon entering.

That, and the foreign laughter coming from the kitchen.

They exchange a look and slowly walk towards the room.

Dan has his back to them and he’s wearing the shirt Santana bought him before he left for Paris--it’s tight around the shoulders, highlights his strong frame and is the shade of his eyes--and they can see a sprite of a girl with long black hair leaning against the counter, literally devouring him and laughing while he mixes something.

“Oh my God,” Blaine whispers, pulling Kurt back and tiptoeing back towards their room.

“What are you doing?” Kurt whispers back, following him nonetheless.

“Letting Dan woo his crush.”

“His what?”

“Shhhhhh!”

“His what?” Kurt repeats lower as Blaine closes the door to their bedroom.

“Dan told me about this girl--”

“Kim-Ly.”

Blaine stops and tilts his head sideways to look at him. “He told you?”

“Nah, I spied on him and Cecilia. Carry on.”

“Kurt …”

“What?”

“Anyway, yes, Kim-Ly, and she’s apparently back to the States too and Dan apparently decided to go for it straight ahead.”

“I wonder who he got it from,” Kurt says, a crooked smile on his face as he comes to stand closer to Blaine, making him walk backwards until they reach the bed.

“DNA, education, hmph,” Blaine manages before landing on the bed, pulling Kurt on top of him.

They kiss and kiss again until Kurt looks up with a frown.

“What is it?”

“Do you think Dan has condoms?”

“Our son is a gentleman, he’s not going to have sex with this girl tonight!”

“I’m just going to leave a couple on his bed …”

“And embarrass her away? No you’re not leaving this bed, Mister.”

“Try and stop me--Blaine, let go of my leg!”

“Nope.”

“Blaine what are y--okay that’s, oh my, that’s convincing.”


	17. Question

As much as Blaine and Kurt manage to refrain on questioning Dan about his date, he can tell that there are more than twenty questions burning the tip of their tongues.

It’s in the look Kurt gives him, a hesitant smile on his lips.

It’s in the light touches of Blaine’s hands on his shoulders whenever he passes him by.

But more than anything, it’s in the soft look in their eyes when they look at him when he looks up from his phone, from Kim-Ly’s latest insignificant texts.

More than all of this, though, it’s in the way they react like surprised squirrels when he finally clears his throat.

“About last night …”

Both heads snap up, eyes made wider by the glasses they wear these days, and a beloved book and a revered tablet are thrown carelessly to the side in order to give him their full attention.

“I know she’s the One.”

They come to sit on both sides of him, eager and happy, but Dan can see Kurt biting his lower lip, literally keeping it all in to let him take his time.

“Ask away.”

As they start asking questions one after the other, talking over the other, Dan smiles at them.

He doesn’t know yet if his love story will be as epic as his dads’.

But he sure hopes so.


	18. Regret

Dan and Cecilia are in front of the TV when they hear it.

It’s Dad and Paps, but today is not an embarrassing and need-to-escape kind of sound.

No, apparently their fathers are in a shouting match, and it’s rare enough to worry them both.

Then again, they both have been out of the house for a while now; who knows what happened between the two men since then.

But the never-ending heart eyes--!

And the constant inappropriate makeouts!

What is this all about?

With a nod of his head, Dan gets Cecilia to remove her legs from his lap and they both silently walk towards the fight.

They might regret it, but they need to know what is going on to see if they can help.

“I _know_ I told you to go and get it, Blaine! It’s all your responsibility, and it would be a nice _change_ if you could just admit it!”

“If you had told me to pick up a turkey, I would have gotten it when _I_ went to the Post office this morning, wouldn’t I?”

“What is _that_ supposed to mean?”

“That I already do _plenty_ , but I would have done it if you had bothered telling me about it!”

“I wrote it down and left it in the kitchen,” Kurt snarls, and Dan has to take a step back at the venom in his voice. “I even added a crown of hearts, because I know you already do a lot and--oh.”

Ear pressed against the door, Dan can hear one of them moving across the room.

“I did write it down,” Kurt says softly with a sniffle.

Blaine sighs, and there is the sound of the bed’s springs creaking. “You did.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Hm.”

“I’ll … I’ll find a turkey for Christmas.”

Blaine lets out a small laugh before Dan can hear a wet, kissing sound. “You better.”

Another kissing sound, and Dan knows for sure that he will regret it even more if he doesn’t leave right now.


	19. Shift

 After that fight, there is a shift in the mood of the house. 

 Not necessarily in a negative way, but they can all feel it–and Dan reacts to it the way he has always reacted to tension and conflicts. 

He tries to make it all better by forcing them to eat their feelings. 

Kurt cups his chin in his palm to observe. 

 Oh, it’s been awhile since he has needed to intervene and keep his son from burning the house down and-or poison them all. No, Dan is an accomplished cook and an even more talented baker and Kurt is more than happy to let him smother them with sweet munchies. 

Speaking of which … 

“What are you doing,” Kurt asks, mouth watering at the [sight ](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/14/9e/cd/149ecd55a56df4b21080d4315809d2f6.jpg)of the hot chocolate poured over the thing Dan took out of the freezer. 

“Icing,” Dan says, moving back and forth with the chocolate and hypnotizing his father in the process. “It will look and taste good, hopefully." 

"Smells amazing,” Kurt replies, looking proudly at his son. 

Dan smiles back and offers the empty bowl. “I made some gingerbread for the log,” he says with a wink. “Wanna dip it to clean the bowl?" 

"Without your father?” Kurt exclaims, faking outrage. “No I would never,” he adds while wiggling his fingers at the bowl. 

Dan chuckles quietly, leaving the bowl before putting the log in the freezer, returning with the plate of gingerbread cuts. “Everything okay with you two?” he asks nonchalantly while dipping a piece of bread in the chocolate. 

Kurt looks up and the two exchange a long look. 

“We’re good, bud,” he replies. “Just getting old." 

"Not that old,” Dan says softly. 

“Thank you!" 

"My pleasure Dad.”


	20. Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Direct follow-up to Shift)

By the time Blaine and Cecilia are home from their walk through the market in Chelsea (for no other reason that Cecilia wanted to get some “vintage cook stuff” for Dan for Christmas), the gingerbread is gone and the bowl is completely clean of chocolate.

That cannot be said about Kurt and Dan’s faces, and their only shield to face their father, husband, daughter and sister’s wrath is the perfectly iced log.

“Dessert for diner?” Blaine suggests, and Kurt groans for mercy. “And carrot sticks,” he adds mercifully.

“I do love carrot sticks,” Kurt says, smiling at him.

“I know you do.“

They look at each other for a moment, long enough that their children start wondering if they are intruding.

But Dan only smirks and pulls the carrots out of the fridge, determined to not let them push that reconciliation in an horizontal way.

Seeing them nuzzling each other is enough for his sensibility.


	21. Underneath

Blaine tries his hardest to keep the purchase of the tree to the last minute possible.

It’s not that he doesn’t like evergreens in his living room–far from it, actually, the smell of the pines reminds him off Kurt’s Cologne.

No, it’s because he knows what scenes he’ll have to deal with if the tree gets into the house too soon before Christmas.

First, [Fluffmonster](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/97/b3/e0/97b3e0762c5597d794b0fba1b19d153a.jpg), aka their dog is going to get all tangled up in the lights.

That’s a certitude, and why there are no lights at the bottom of the Hummel-Anderson tree.

Second, and perhaps that’s the most important part, Blaine knows that no more than an hour after the installment of the tree in its place, his husband and children will be lying underneath the branches and won’t be easily dislodged from their spots.

Dan and Cecilia got in the habit maybe two years after Cecilia’s adoption, creating their ritual of spending every evening until Christmas in the shadow of the tree.

And Kurt joined them the year Burt was hospitalized, finding shelter in the small space.

And since then, Blaine has been either condemned to watch their [feet ](https://d2gg9evh47fn9z.cloudfront.net/thumb_COLOURBOX1210166.jpg)wiggling and bouncing from under the tree, or join them.

Don’t get him wrong, Blaine loves spending time with his tribe, cuddling and snuggling to their hearts’ content.

It’s just that he doesn’t feel as … flexible as he once did, and getting underneath the low branches might be easy but standing up afterwards?

No, he’s not looking forward to it.

So the tree is delivered to their house on the 21st, and that’s the best he managed.

Kurt glances at the tree with a sparkle in his eyes, but when Dan and Cecilia (and Fluffmonster) crawl to the tree, giggling like they are back in their childhood, he stays where he is, in Blaine’s embrace.

“You can join them, you know,” Blaine says.

“Nah,” Kurt replies, pressing a kiss to Blaine’s jaw, “I’m just fine right here.”

Blaine leans forward, tightening his hold on Kurt and returns the kiss to the side of Kurt’s neck.

_Hm, pines._


	22. Vow

Whoever disturbed his nap is going to see what Hell looks like from up close, Blaine vows to himself when shouting and crashing devices pull him from his afternoon rest.

He quickly forgets about his wrath when he arrives in the living room and sees Dan trying to pull the hair from his face, phone in pieces on the floor–nothing unrepairable, but still.

It’s not like his son to be in this state, so over dramatic and in disarray.

“What’s going on, mijo?”

Dan looks up, eyes red, and he sighs before burying his face in his hands once again.

“Is it your dad? Your sister?” Blaine tries not to panic but it’s getting difficult. “Your … girlfriend?”

Dan shakes his head and wipes tears from his eyes, taking a deep, shaky breath. “My–my apartment in P-Paris.”

“What?”

“Robbed.”

“Oh no,” Blaine says in a breath, sitting down next to Dan to rub his back.

“My–my neighbor just called me, she had my, my number in c-case of, of …”

“Okay, that’s smart of you,” Blaine replies soothingly.

“And they–they, they flooded the apartment too,” Dan says shakily. “The place is r-ruined, what am I going to do, Papa?”

“We’re going to find a solution.”

“We are?”

“Right now, you and I are going to have a walk around the block so you can breathe some fresh air and we can get some chocolate smoothies, and when your dad comes home, we’ll put our brains together and find a solution.”

Dan scoots closer, folding his tall body to fit next to Blaine and leans his head on Blaine’s shoulder. “Thank you for being the sensible one, Paps.”

“Don’t get used to it,” Blaine says with a laugh, before pressing a kiss to his forehead.


	23. Wish

Once upon a time, Kurt wished to leave the cesspool that is Lima (and its educational system) to be his true, amazing self in somewhere equally amazing, like New York, or London, or Paris.

His experience in New York and its, shall we say, less amazing parts should have prepared him for Paris and its less than glamorous facets.

Then again, he’s not here to visit, so he’ll forgive his son for picking a very strange neighborhood to live in while studying in the City of Lights.

“I think this man just offered me to buy five cellphones,” he whispers in Blaine’s ear as they follow Dan.

The trip to Paris wasn’t planned, but it seemed like the best idea to take care of Dan’s apartment, insurance and to still be able to celebrate Christmas the four of them together.

“Possible,” Blaine replies, tightening his hold on Kurt’s hand. “And I think a man offered five plates of silver to Dan for his sister. Let’s move on.”

“Psshh,” Kurt tuts, following Dan into the building. “She’s worth way more than that.”

Dan climbs the stairs two by two, and the three of them follow closely, until they reach the second floor.

The door is ajar and Dan sighs, pushing it completely opened while Cecilia puts her hand on his back in silent support.

The place must have been nice and comfy, before the burglars decided to trash it, and Kurt sighs along with his son.

The fact that the apartment was flooded is still visible in the traces on the walls and the state of the floorboard, but there is no longer water on the floor--small mercies, they guess.

Dan goes to check on his neighbor, the one who called him in the first place, to thank her and to give her a small present from New York.

In the meantime, Kurt, Blaine and Cecilia work on packing what’s left of Dan’s possession, in his bedroom and in the kitchen.

Kurt smiles sadly as he picks up a broken frame from the floor--it’s the last picture they took all together with Burt before he…

It was Christmas time, too, and Dan and Burt are wearing matching Hummel’s t-shirts with those  [ Santa hats  ](https://img0.etsystatic.com/026/1/7192616/il_214x170.530931202_9ndf.jpg) Cecilia had made and insisted they all wore.

It looks like Blaine took the picture, since he’s missing in the group, and it’s a candid if Kurt has ever seen any.

Dan and Burt are laughing, and Cecilia is creeping behind Kurt to put the hat on his head.

Dan comes back and walks around, picking up damaged stuff that are apparently more important to him than they thought.

“I have to go to the police station to make a statement, and send it to my landlord’s insurance company afterwards,” he tells them with a weak attempt at a smile. “And then we can go.”

“We can come with you,” Blaine offers.

“Nah, go to the hotel,” Dan says, waving his hand. “I’ll be right there with you, and we can put it all behind us.”

“What about all your stuff?” Cecilia asks, biting on her pinky finger.

“I need to see if one of my friends is still in the city.”

“Good friend?”

“Ben? He’s my best friend.”

“I’ll tell Kirk that you have a Frenchie best friend,” Cecilia teases, eager to dissipate the tension.

“Best friends and Brothers-from-different-parents are not mutually exclusive.” Dan retorts before smirking. “Besides, Ben is not French.”

“And you think he’ll agree to keep your stuff until the end of January?”

“I think he’ll agree to empty his free room to let me crash for the last semester,” Dan says, already typing on his phone. “It’s just til the end of the May, really, barely four months.”

“Alright,” Kurt says, clapping his hands and closing the suitcase on the wrapped frame. “See you later son.”

“See you later Dad,” Dan says, walking out of the apartment, before returning, one hand on the doorframe. “And--thank you guys for doing all this.”

“Taking care of you?” Blaine replies, shouldering a sports bag. “That’s our job, mijo.”

Dan smiles crookedly. “Still,” he insists, “thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now go, and we may have enough time to see the Eiffel Tower shining in the nights before jetlag catches up with us.”


	24. Yesterday

It’s not ideal, not by a big margin.

But overall, all things considered, it’s not the worst Christmas of their lives.

There is something special about being in Paris for this, the four of us together–they managed to find two rooms in a little hotel near the Père-Lachaise, and it reminds Blaine of many vacations they took when the kids were still young enough that they agreed to go with them wherever Kurt and Blaine decided to take them, but old enough that it was not a core to travel with them.

 _God_ , Blaine muses as he observes Dan rushing to Oscar Wilde’s impressive [mausoleum ](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4c/Tomb_of_Oscar_Wilde,_P%C3%A8re_Lachaise_cemetery,_Paris,_France.jpg)with Cecilia running behind him and Kurt calling after them, _it feels like it was all only yesterday._

_Where did the years go?_

Oh this is pretty rhetorical: Blaine knows exactly where the years went.

In the lines on his forehead and around his mouth.

In the light brown spots that are slowly but surely covering Kurt’s hands.

In the way Dan decidedly looks like a Latino version of Kurt.

In the way Cecilia has grown up to be her own woman, away from the torments of her early years, with her own mannerisms that are a mixture of Kurt’s and his.

The years have flown them by, and the proverbial yesterday is far in the distance.

But Blaine wouldn’t have it any other way, and as Kurt turns to look at him with that same wonder in his eyes as the day they met–as the day they got married, too, now that he is reminiscing–, he has a feeling that Kurt wouldn’t change it one bit.

 _Where will the years take them_ , now that’s a good question.

For starters, Blaine will have to find a way to give Kurt his present–the only one he could pack, that is.


End file.
